Chapter 1 Baby Mama For A Stranger

At the hospital, a young woman with exquisite features sat there without any expression, and her fetching eyes lacked for nothing except soulfulness. She possessed a certain melancholic disposition that was at odds with her youthful appearance. The intensive-care unit across from where she was seated was equally inert, save for the pings on the heart monitor between protracted intervals interspersed with the artificially induced drawl in and out of her father’s lungs. At an age where one ought to be recklessly carefree, the only thing she could offer the world was her weariness. The words of her stepmother reverberated inside her head.You will only be helping to bear a child, Eleanor. With that four million fee, we could send your father in for surgery. We can save his life!I’m sure you couldn’t bear to watch your father die, could you? Two weeks prior, her father was involved in a traffic accident. He currently lay comatose inside the emergency room, and there was a possibility that he might never come to. With all the projects at their company being put on hold indefinitely, the household reserves were nearly spent. Her stepmother, Scarlet, had supposedly searched long and hard before she managed to link her up with this wealthy benefactor. So long as she, Eleanor Shelby, agreed to bear that man a child, her family could be saved. The young woman had been amendable previously as she had assumed that her role in this was to be a surrogate. The day after she put pen to paper, a few men in formal wear straight up had her admitted to undergo an extensive series of tests. After which, they had all her dietary needs and essentials catered for. That was when she came to the realization that these men were preparing her for pregnancy. And to this end, she was to copulate with the client himself. To think she had been kept in the dark about the nature of this insidious arrangement throughout. Her stepmother chided the young woman after she had finally gotten sick of her dithering, “Don’t forget that you are obliged to follow through on this, Eleanor. The penalty for contravening the terms of the contract goes into the billions!” “With our family business already ass-deep in debt, I cannot afford for this deal to fall through! I will not allow it!” As Eleanor sat slumped and listless on the couch, she heard the crisp clacking of leather heels echo from the other end of the corridor. At that moment, a man in a pair of gold-rimmed spectacles approached. His face remained impassive even as he stopped before them. “Have you come to a decision?” Scarlet put on her most ingratiating demeanor as she tugged at her stepdaughter’s arm. “Yes, yes! We’ve talked this through, and we are all set. About that four million... When would we be able to receive it?” The man, Henry, calmly adjusted the glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose. “The agreed sum would be transferred in full as soon as we are able to confirm that Ms. Shelby is expecting.” As he spoke, his attention turned to Eleanor. “Someone will pick you up at ten tonight. I’m sure you know what to do.” Eleanor merely clasped her own fingers. In response, her stepmother stealthily wrenched her arm before she saw off the client’s bespectacled assistant with an ostentatious smile. It took a while before Eleanor raised her puffy eyes. “Were you already aware of the specifics of the agreement? Have you been keeping them from me all this time?” “I... I...” Scarlet was tongue-tied. It was as though she had the rug pulled from beneath her feet. The older woman then stamped her foot down in retort. “Do you think I enjoy this? Can’t you see that this is all for your father’s sake? Do you think we’re able to do anything without money? Besides, your father has always given you the best of everything. So, surely, for you to make a little concession in return at this moment isn’t too much to ask? Transfixed within the girl’s death-stare, the stepmother was guilt-tripped into silence.